We're Just Friends
by EmiieRoxs
Summary: We're just friends! There's nothing between us! he would always say. She would always agree right after, but agreeing doesn't mean she wants it to be. 'Why can't we be more than friends' she sometimes would think. LizxTak Also some drama COMPLETE!
1. We're Just Friends

**Chapter 1: We're Just Friends**

A boy of age 16 was deep in thought as he came home from his race again Skylark. His black hair was smoothed down, except one little spot. Instead of sticking up though, it poofed down. Not saying a word when he walked through the door, he went straight to his room. He slammed it shut, not even paying attention to what he was doing. The boy, Takeshi Jin, was lying on his bed, a blank expression on his face. He just couldn't stop thinking, thinking about her...

_"I'm sorry Takeshi, but it's over between us."_ he remembered her saying. The words kept echoing in his head, and he continued to fiddle with the gold and silver pieces, trying to get them apart. He sighed in aggrivation and threw the things on the ground. He turned to his side on his bed, and closed his eyes. He tried to sleep, but he couldn't. The words, it just wouldn't leave him alone.

_"There's nothing you can do to change my mind."_ he remembered her saying. He growled under his breath, and turned on his other side. There was nothing he could do, and he only yelled in aggrivation. He picked up the two-piece, and started to fiddle with it once more. He stopped in mid-fiddle, and looked across the room to see his cell phone beeping. He decided to ignore it and continued to think about what else she had said to him.

_"Obviously I'm not the one for you, but I know someone else needs you, and that you're a better match than me."_

_"Who Liz? We're just friends!"_ As the phone finally stopped it's ringing, he took his eyes away from it and back to the two piece. Unfortunately, the one who had called him was Fantine.

"That's right...we're just friends..." he said to himself as he continued to try and pry the two pieces apart.

"Hm...I should try and cheer up Takeshi. He's pretty down ever since today's race." a girl of age 17 said to herself. Her short, mahogany hair color was being blown by the wind, and her blue eyes stared into the distance. The girl, Liz Ricarro, gave a sigh and ruffled her hair with her hand. _'Gosh Takeshi...Why in the world do you have to be like this now? I thought you were back with us man.'_ she thought.

_"Obviously I'm not the one for you, but I know someone else needs you, and that you're a better match than me."_

_"Who Liz? We're just friends!" _she remembered that part of Takeshi and Fantine's sad conversation. _'Just friends...is that it?'_ Liz wondered and slapped herself across the cheek mentally. _'Get ahold of yourself Liz! You're not really saying you like him, are you?'_ she thought in disgust and lost her train of thought when she heard a meow from behind. Liz whirled around to see a girl of age 15 in her hospital uniform. Her nice light brown hair was longer then Liz's, and the cat below her continued to meow.

"Oh it's only you. Sorry did I take too long up here?" Liz asked sheepishly.

"No it's all right. I probably know what you're thinking about though." the girl, Amy Stapleton, replied, her voice as calm as ever. The cat trotted over to Liz and began to purr. Liz picked up the cat in her arms and began to scratch behind his ear.

"Oh really? Just try me." Liz said with a smile.

"Takeshi. It's sort of obvious isn't it?" the girl said with a giggle.

"Ha. You're too good Amy. Are you sure Luca didn't drag you up here and tell you that himself?" Liz asked and the two laughed. As they walked back down to the hospital room, they found Takeshi sitting on the chair.

"There you are. I decided to come visit. Didn't think you'd still be here Liz." Takeshi said casually.

"You got a problem with that Takeshi? Cause I came here way before you did." Liz shot back and Takeshi only laughed.

"Ha. No way, chill I was just saying." he replied as he waved his hands in front of him.

"Pssh." Liz responded and Amy laughed. Luca went over to Takeshi and curled up in his lap. _'Looks like Luca doesn't mind me being here.'_ Takeshi thought as he pet the cat lightly. He could feel Luca purr. As Amy was back in bed, Liz decided to stand and looked out the window. Everyone was silent, and Luca decided to sleep with Amy now. As he left Takeshi's lap and onto Amy's bed, Luca made a silent wail.

"So, I heard you won against Skylark. Congratulations." Amy said to break the silence.

"Yeah. We were great, even Andrei was great!" Liz said with a smile. There was no reply from Takeshi. Amy couldn't help but wonder what had happened that made him so...quiet. Of course Liz was the one to talk, and Takeshi would join in sooner or later. But now, with Takeshi so quiet all of a sudden, what happened? Then again...

"Hm? What was that, Amy?" Takeshi asked. As he took his gaze away from the floor he remembered Amy had said something. _'Idiot. You should be paying attention.'_ Liz thought to herself with a chuckle.

"I just said that you won against Skylark. Congrats." Amy repeated herself and Takeshi didn't smile. His only reply was, "Yeah." As the silence began to continue, Liz couldn't stand it. _'Say something nice. Something around the lines, 'Takeshi, cheer up man. You're making everyone around you sad and we don't want you to be that way'.'_ she thought.

"You're not still moping because of Fantine now are you?" she was brave enough to ask. _'NO! That wasn't what I wanted to say!'_ she thought. _'It wasn't even around the lines of what you wanted to say. Way to go.'_ her inner self chirped bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Takeshi replied coldly.

"You heard me. You shouldn't be moping like this Takeshi it's bad for you! Especially when you're our team leader! I thought that you had said you were back in the game with us!" Liz shot back.

"I can mope if I want to! Apparently you don't know what it's like to be dumped by someone you care about!" Takeshi roared back. Liz was silent by that and Takeshi only grumbled.

"Sorry..." he managed to say.

"I'm...sorry too. Look, okay so you're not Fantine's boyfriend anymore. That shouldn't make you like this man, you need to be okay for the next race." Liz said, trying to be nicer to Takeshi. She had to admit that was a little rude to say. I mean, she only dumped him a few hours ago.

"Easy for you to say. Don't worry about me I'll be okay for the next race so just drop it." he said.

"Takeshi is that why you're quiet?" Amy asked.

"Since when did it become your business?" he snapped and Amy was taken aback.

"Hey knock it off Takeshi! She was only asking I'm the one you should be mad at for bringing it up!" Liz said in Amy's defense.

"You know, you're right! I don't need to take this! I'm leaving. Bye Amy." he said and walked off.

"Well-...Fine!" Liz managed to call after him and then re-entered the room. Once more silence filled the room. Amy read her book silently, concern was written all over her face, but never once did she come to ask what was going on. Luca could feel the mood in the room, and shuffled around in the sheets uncomfortably. Liz only stared out the window. Her thoughts carried her away, and she ignored any other noise that she could hear.

_'It looks like you're the one that's moping. You just made Takeshi feel bad, way to go!'_ a voice inside her head said.

_"I am not moping. I don't have time to mope anyways. Besides, what do you know?"_ Liz shot back with a shrug.

_'Are you sad?'_ her inner self asked.

_"Sad? About what? What's there to be sad about?"_ Liz asked.

_'Don't play dumb with me! That he only thinks of you as a friend, nothing more. He still loves Fantine you know.'_ her inner self replied, almost sounding challengingly.

_"Nah. I wouldn't care if all the fangirls had a crush on him and he loved them back. Even though for Takeshi, that would totally weird and disturbing."_ Liz replied.

_'Are you sure? You can't fool me. I'm you after all.'_ her inner self said.

_"Hm...I don't need to hear this, especially from you, er, myself...whatever just shoo!"_ Liz said and gave a cold shoulder.

_'Fine, fine. Be that way. Remind me again why I thought you couldn't get any more stubborn?' _her inner self sighed and Liz was pulled back into reality, feeling something bump into her and fall to the floor. She turned around to see Amy who had been calling her name constantly.

"I'm sorry Amy, I was lost in thought." Liz said with a laugh as she gave the pillow back.

"Is something the matter Liz?" Amy asked.

"Sorta...Hey Amy," Liz said.

"What is it?" she asked as Luca's ears perked up.

"Why is it...that when you want to say something to someone that's so pure and kind, it doesn't come out the way you plan and you say is something even more hateful and stuff?" Liz asked. Luca only meowed a couple of times, and went back to sleep in satisfaction.

"Care to translate what your tabby had to say?" Liz laughed.

"I think Luca meant to say, was that, 'Don't worry Liz I'm sure someday you'll be able to tell Takeshi how you really feel'." Amy translated and laughed when Liz's face went pink.

"Wha-what? Why I oughtta! If Luca weren't asleep right now I'd chase him around this whole hospital building!"

Takeshi wandered around the park, finding a bench to sit on that had a working lamp post, that actually worked and didn't flicker. He looked up at the moon as he continued to walk around cluelessly. When he found somewhere to sit he happily plopped down and stretched.

"Stupid Liz. What does she know? If that talk back there was to cheer me up, she has a weird sense of that." Takeshi grumbled. _'I shouldn't be saying that about Liz, but sometimes she can get...argh!'_ he thought and closed his eyes. He tried to clear his mind, of Liz, Fantine, everything. Until finally he could picture himself on the track. He could feel the sensation, the thrill, everything that made him calm down. He took a deep breath, and heard a voice calling his voice. A very familiar voice in fact.

"Takeshi?" the voice asked again as he opened his eyes.

"...Fantine." he said quietly and she sat down next to him.

"Hello. I wasn't sure how you were taking it...and I see you aren't taking it very well...I'm sorry. I tried calling you on your cell but you wouldn't pick it so I thought, I'd go for a walk. Maybe I'd be able to run into you." she explained.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Actually, I'm okay now...really." he said to reassure her. _'What are you saying? You can't get over the fact that you still love her, and you want her in your arms again!'_ his inner self roared.

"Oh. That's good news. I'm very, happy for you." Fantine said with a smile and stood up.

"Well, I'd best be off. Goodbye, Takeshi." she said and ran off. He didn't give her a reply, and she didn't expect one back. Still, it saddened her that Takeshi wouldn't tell him his real feelings. Because, underneath it all, somewhere deep inside Fantine wanted Takeshi back as much as he wanted her. When she was out of sight, Takeshi wondered what to do. _'Well, guess the right thing would be to go home.'_ he thought to himself as he got up too. As he stumbled on his way home, he ran into Liz.

"Oh. Hey Liz. I thought you were still with Amy." Takeshi said slightly.

"I was, but then I decided to walk around a few minutes later. I hope that doesn't bother you." Liz replied with a smile.

"Course not. So um, wanna take a...walk?" he asked casually and Liz nodded quietly, she was in mid-blush when she snapped herself out of it. _'Don't even interfere in my thoughts that might make me totally embarrass myself!'_ she growled to her innerself who just gave a happy, innocent smile. The two walked down the path silently, without a word.

"Sorry about, Fantine and all Takeshi. I didn't mean to make you mad back there. I was trying to make you feel better, but the words of kindess became something else." Liz apologized.

"Ah, it was nothing don't worry. I'm okay now." he replied with a small smile.

"Yeah..." Liz replied and continued to be silent from there. When they reached Team Satomi's headquarters, she said goodbye to Takeshi.

"Later. See you tommorow at practice." he said to her and waved.

"Yeah. Better not screw up lover boy." Liz teased and Takeshi kept his cool. _'Back off Liz!'_ he thought to himself. _'Chill man.'_ his inner self said with a monotonous look.

"Yup I won't. You can count on me. See ya." he said and walked off. She smiled a little, and then went inside. She flopped on her bed, and wished that Luca were there, even though he gave her a suprise in the morning by yowling and sitting on her stomach. She frowned, and turned on her side.

_'Stupid cat. Telling me how I feel about Takeshi. That dope. After all, we're just...friends.'_ she thought and went to sleep.

A/N: Hello again people :) my fourth story is of IGPX! (yes we already know that doofus: inner self) . . .anyways, i'm still a fledgling with fanfiction, and i hope my stories do make people like them. plz R&R! o yea, i don't own IGPX or any of it's characters, although i think it's a great show! thumbs up


	2. There's Nothing Between Us!

A/N: whoa whoa i had no idea about that. the good thing is that i made the changes so thanx for the info! just so u know though i got their ages on en.wikipedia but thanx for the note! o yea, plz R&R! and happy reading :)

**Chapter 2: There's Nothing Between Us**

The next morning Liz awoke to an angry 'boss'. She heard someone tapping their foot, and quickly stumbled up. A woman of age 24 with long gray hair in a ponytail gave her a hazel colored stare.

"Sorry ma'am, I overslept." Liz said with a frown. The woman, Miss Michiro Satomi gave a sigh.

"It's all right Liz. Actually, you only morning workout." Miss Satomi replied with a smile.

"I promise it won't happen again! Usually Luca wakes me up but since he's not here and all..." Liz replied as her voice trailed off.

"Just get to the others, you're going to be late for the practice and strategy." Miss Satomi replied with a laugh and Liz dashed out to find the others.

"There you are Liz, we were waiting for you." Andrei said with a frown.

"Sorry Andrei I overslept." she said and took a seat next to Takeshi. He leaned over to her and whispered, "Darn it all, and I was hoping to kick your ass this morning with my martial arts skills."

"Not in a million years, dream on." Liz whispered back threateningly. Takeshi only laughed.

"All right you two let's get down to business. Or are you not finished flirting?" Andrei teased.

"There's nothing between us!" they cried in unison. _'Though...I sometimes wish that wasn't true...'_ an inner voice thought. Andrei only laughed and clicked his button. A screenshot of three blue mechs appeared, all going in slow motion.

"The next team we're going up against, well, you guys will be going against, will be Team Sledge Mamma. River will be participating as you know, so he will be a challenge. That is, if he's been working out which I bet he has. Ah, besides that, be on guard with him. Also you will want to be completely aware of Yamma. I hear that he might be fired if he doesn't win the next race against us. With that said he's not going to go easy on you, he'll try to tear you down in the battle round as fast as he can. Are you two ready for the simulations? I want you to go head to head." Andrei said.

"Head to head? That's different." Liz said.

"What are you, chicken? Afraid that I'll kick your butt out on the track?" Takeshi challenged.

"Put a sock in it Takeshi! You'll never win against me!" Liz cried back.

"Then show me, in the simulation. If you lose I'll never let you rest before saying, 'I kicked your butt out there on the track'." he said with a smirk.

"Fine! Andrei hurry up and let's do it already! Takeshi's gotten me pissed!" Liz shouted and Andrei laughed. As they went out to the simulation machines, Liz was in her own world.

_'Looks like someone's ready to fight. You sure you're going to win?'_ her inner self asked, arms folded across her chest.

_"Oh you bet I will."_ Liz replied as she rolled her right arm in circles, her left hand holding on to her shoulder.

_'Haha! What about your mixed feelings about him? Are you sure THEY won't get in the way?'_ her inner self challenged.

_"Oh shut it! I will win and I'll show both of you that I can't lose. Even if my emotions get in my way, I'll knock 'em all down beacuse no one gets me pissed and lives to tell the tale."_ Liz said proudly with a grin.

_'Ohoho. Touché my friend. Well, good luck. I think we'll be needing it.'_ her inner self said with a gleeful smile and Liz's mind went on to the track.

"You ready guys?" a man with glasses, a gray ponytail and smile asked.

"You bet." Takeshi replied.

"Let's just get on to the track so I can kick Takeshi's sorry ass!" Liz cried, infuriated.

"Haha. Hold your horses we have to get it up first. Takeshi, I'd be careful if I were you. Getting Liz pissed isn't what you want." the man, Mark Ramsey, said with a laugh as he turned the simulation on.

"You got it. Hey the stronger the better." Takeshi replied with a grin. _'Wow. Liz sure got fired up. Maybe I shouldn'tve said that stuff back there. I mean, she is pretty good and all.'_ Takeshi thought. As the race began, Takeshi and Liz were neck and neck. As they rounded the corner, the second round began.

"You ready to get beaten Takeshi?" Liz asked.

"No way!" Takeshi roared and the two linked in a hardcore fight. _'Okay Liz, you can do this! Punch to the right, kick to the left! Jab to the middle! C'mon focus!'_ Liz thought as every hit was either blocked by Takeshi, or missed.

"What's the matter Liz?" Takeshi asked and was able to have Liz fall onto the track. As she slid backwards, she quickly pulled herself back up and raced back to Takeshi.

"I'm just getting started Takeshi so just keep your weak moves comin!" Liz shot back and Takeshi only smiled. _'That's the Liz I know!'_ he thought with a bright smile and brought on every move he could make when Liz caught up to him. Liz fought valiantly, and gave no effort for Takeshi to find a weak spot, nor did he.

"Things are getting interesting Takeshi. Show me what you're made of!" Liz cried and charged.

"You do the same and I won't regret taking you down!" Takeshi replied and the two clashed. They were hand in hand, pushing eachother to their limits.

"Tell me something Andrei, is this to test their skills, or to make them a couple?" Mark teased.

"There's nothing goin on between us! Get it through your thick heads!" the two roared in unison.

"Oooo. Ouch." Andrei said and shut one of his eyes with a smile.

"TAKESHI!" Liz roared and went for the kill. She used a direct punch.

"Oh no you don't!" Takeshi cried and made an attack to cancel out hers. At the last second, Takeshi realized he had been tricked!

"Ha! Tricked ya!" Liz said, ducked Takeshi's attack, flipped him over, and transformed into her vehicle mode to the finish line.

"Gah! Liz! You dirty little cheater!" Takeshi grunted and followed right after. When the simulation had ended, Takeshi sulked while Liz cheered.

"Ha! Who won huh Takeshi? Who did? Come on let's hear you say it." Liz said proudly.

"You did..." he said with a huff.

"You bet I did!" Liz replied with a thumbs up.

_"C'mon, say it. Who won?"_ she asked her inner self.

_'You did...'_ her inner self said and rolled her eyes.

_"See? I told ya I'd win! Ha!"_ she cheered inside her head.

"All right you two, are you done now?" Andrei asked.

"Huccum you keep treatin us like a couple Andrei?" Takeshi asked with a gruff.

"Maybe because you two keep acting like one." Mark replied and Liz blushed bright pink, filled with a little bit of anger, and happiness to that comment.

"Why I oughtta! Wh-whoever said that we wanted to be one? Or that we were ever one or that we acted like one!" she managed to say and looked pretty crossed. Takeshi was suprised Liz could say all of that, and finally nodded by saying, "Y-yeah!" in response.

"Whatever you say. It's what we see that makes us suspect, that's all." Andrei replied with a shrug. As the two looked at eachother, they faced back to back right after in disagreement. As Liz went to get a soda from the vending machine, she placed her 50 cents in and pressed the button. Nothing came out. She began to lose her patience, and pressed the button continuously.

"Why you-gimme my soda you piece of junk!" she cried and lifted her leg in the air. When her foot almost connected with the vending machine, she heard Takeshi cry, "You better not do that!" He ran over and she blinked a couple of times.

"Why not? I just want my soda." Liz replied.

"Trust me, I tried that once. It didn't really do anything good, just got me bankrupt. How else do you think we got a new vending machine?" Takeshi replied and pressed the button continuously, and then lightly tapped the machine. In seconds the soda dropped with a 'kur-plunk'.

"Thanks." she said. As she stepped away and sat down, she watched Takeshi get his own and sit beside her.

"Nice competition." he said to her.

"You weren't that bad yourself." Liz teased.

"If we had a rematch I bet I would win." he said.

"Oh really? What rematch are we talking bout? Kickin Takeshi's butt at martial arts, or Kickin Takeshi's butt on the track?" she asked with a laugh.

"You promise that what I request you will truly agree with? No turning back." he said and Liz nodded.

"Sure. Whatever I'll still kick your butt anyways." she said with a shrug.

"I'll probably beat you at my favorite game." he said and gave her a little gameboy.

"You little-" Liz said, her eye twitching as she stared down at the gameboy.

_'Next time, THINK before you ACT! We don't even know how to play this stupid...thing whatever it is!'_ her inner self roared.

"I told you I'd probably win." he said with a smirk, a little sparkly appeared in his eye.

"T-Takeshi! This is totally taking advantage of me!" Liz squeaked.

"I'll show you how you do it then. Then we'll fight." he said and showed her all of the controls, everything.

"Got it?" he finally asked about a few minutes later.

"Mm-hm..." she said, not so sure everything Takeshi told her would help. _'Okay, just remember that to jump it's A and to attack is B and to...why the hell am I reciting this!'_ she thought to herself.

"Ready?" Takeshi asked.

"Y-yeah." Liz replied and the fight began.

"Haha! All right! Who's the master? Come on you _know_ you wanna say it." Takeshi said with a devil's grin.

"Oh shut it! One more go!" Liz cried. Already it was ten to...zero. _'When all else fails with tactics, just hit any button!'_ she thought.

"All right all right. Just one more though. I promise though that if you win we'll call it a tie." he said. _'Like that's going to happen.'_ they mysteriously thought the same thing.

"Okay. Ready? Set..."

"GO!" Liz cried and went crazy. She pressed buttons, A+B which actually did a critical attack. Takeshi couldn't believe that and continued to go on his winning way. When Takeshi had 30 LP left, and Liz had 10 LP left, she amazingly won by pressing L+R+A to equal a special attack that did 40 damage! Takeshi's player went down, and Liz's won!

"Oh my god...I won...I WON! YESS!" Liz cried in an uproar and whoo hoo-ed around the whole hallway. When she finally reached back to Takeshi, he laughed and applauded.

"Congratulations. I still can't believe you pulled that off. Too bad it's a tie." Takeshi said with a smirk. Liz stopped her parade, and gave Takeshi a stare.

"Hmph. Fine. A tie is better than a loss." she said with a smile. Suddenly, her stomach growled.

"Umm...I guess only beverages can't make my stomach from being hungry." she said sheepishly and Takeshi laughed which made Liz blush. Then they heard another rumble.

"Uh...I guess that goes for me too." he said and scratched his head nervously.

"Wanna go for some lunch?" Liz asked and Takeshi nodded. Before even setting foot out of the Satomi HQ, Takeshi pulled Liz back in and told her to wait for a second. When he came back he wore his sunglasses. He gave her a pair.

"You'll want these. Trust me." Takeshi said with a smile and she took them and put them on.

"Thanks." she said with a bright smile.

_'Aw, that was sweet of him.'_ her inner self chirped happily.

"You know, I never knew that competition could make you sooooo hungry." Liz said as she ate her hamburger.

"Same here. Man I'm craving for two chili dogs, no three!" Takeshi said. As they found a spot to sit, they did so and continued to eat until they were full.

"Say Takeshi, you think that Amy will be ready for the next race? She's kinda been pushing herself lately to come back." Liz said.

"Hm, I don't know really. I think Amy will be fine. Let's have faith in her." Takeshi replied and he finished his second chili dog.

"You wait here, I'm gonna get another one. Do you want anything else?" Takeshi asked as he stood up and brushed off the bread crust.

"You're a pig. But um, some fries would be nice." Liz replied with a smile.

"Okay. Be right back." he said and rushed off to the stand. Liz smiled with a sigh and disappeared into her own world.

_'Looks like you and Takeshi are on a little date. Lunch is okay, but you should go out for dinner next.'_ her inner self chimed.

_"This is not a date! Both Takeshi and I were hungry that's all! There's nothing between us and you know it."_ Liz hissed.

_'You know, the more you say that, the more you want it to not be true. Are you sure that Takeshi isn't thinking that?'_ her inner self asked.

_"Thinking what? That we're not just friends now but-No way! Takeshi wouldn't think that. Not in a million years would we be girlriend boyfriend..."_ Liz said, a hint of sadness could be seen on her face.

_'Okay, so you think he isn't. But um, there's something making me a little crazy inside. You keep saying there's nothing going on, and he says that as well. Did it ever occur to you that maybe if he's saying there's nothing going on, he might want something to go on?'_ her inner self explained, and asked at the same time.

_"Uh...you got me confused. Anyways, if Takeshi says there's nothing between us, and I say there isn't anything between us, let's just leave it at that!"_ Liz shouted.

_'But-'_

"Um, Liz? Liz...Liz!" Takeshi cried.

"Wha..what!" Liz asked, startled.

"Um, here are your fries. I wasn't sure if you wanted anything on it, so I brought some salt and ketchup with me." he said and handed it to her. As he plopped down to eat his chili dog, Liz said nothing and just ate her fries like a person who hadn't eaten for months.

"Are you feeling all right Liz? You really shouldn't eat that much in one bite, you might throw up." Takeshi asked, concerned.

"What? Oh, no I'm feeling fine why would you think I wasn't okay?" Liz replied as she wiped a little bit of ketchup off of her mouth.

"You-ah...nevermind." Takeshi replied and took another bite out of his chili dog. He chewed and looked up and stared into the distance. Liz looked at Takeshi and took another fry. As she fixed her glance on the fry, it was one bite away from being in her stomach, when she heard Takeshi gasp. Thinking something was wrong, she looked at him with a concerned look. His eyes went wide, and he got up abruptly. Liz looked to see what the source was, and her eyes went wide as well. Her mouth dropped and she too stood up quickly. There, looking straight at them, was Fauntine.

_'Oh man...talk about bad timing. And just when you guys were on your-'_

_"Can it!"_ Liz interrupted and hit her inner self on the head. Liz didn't know what to do. Her stare went from Fauntine, to Takeshi, then back to Fauntine. As she was still as a stone, Fauntine was the first one to make a move. She smiled and waved to them. For some reason, Liz didn't think that smile was a happy one. _'I wonder if she still has feelings for Takeshi. If she did then why did she dump him?...Unless...'_ Liz thought and remembered Fauntine's words. Fauntine took a step foward to them, and Takeshi instinctively took one too. _'Guess I should follow or somepin.'_ Liz thought and waited for Fauntine to come closer. As the two walked up to her, she smiled at them.

"Hello Takeshi, Liz." she said with a nod.

"Hi Fauntine." Takeshi said with a small smile.

"Hey." Liz said casually with a grin.

"Enjoying the weather?" she asked, trying to make conversation.

"Actually we just got some grub. But um, the weather is enjoyable." Takeshi replied with a laugh. After that, the three were silent. _'What do I do what do I do?'_ Liz thought.

"Um, do you wanna go get some ice cream with us Fauntine? We could all use some desert I bet." Liz said with a smile.

"Yeah. Ice cream would be nice on this sunny day. Whaddaya say?" Takeshi asked sweetly.

"Surely. I'd love that." Fauntine said and the three went for some ice cream. Fauntine had vanilla, Liz had chocolate, and Takeshi had mint. As the three looked out at a spot where they could see the ocean, they nearly forgot they had food that could melt within minutes.

"So, have you two been training for the next race against Sledge Mamma?" Fauntine asked.

"Yeah. Pretty much everyday now. Well, sometimes we have free time so we either visit Amy or...I guess do this kinda stuff haha." Takeshi replied with a smile.

"That's right! How is Amy? Will she be ready for the next race?" Fauntine asked.

"She's fine. The doctor says she'll be able to come out of the hospital before the race. Although, I don't think he knows she'll want to do it. I've heard that he's told her to not to do things too strainful." Liz replied.

"That's good to hear. Well, I hope you win and keep the title of IGPX champions." she said as she threw out her half eaten cone.

"Thanks. It's nice to know that other teams will be rooting for us." Takeshi replied with a grin. _'He seems so much happier now that Fauntine's here. He still loves her...' _Liz thought, a bit of disappointment could be seen.

"Hm? What's wrong Liz?" Fauntine asked when she saw Liz zone out with a sad look on her face.

"Huh? What? Oh nothing's wrong at all sorry I just...spaced out that's all." she replied with a nervous grin.

"You've been doing that a lot now. Something on your mind?" Takeshi asked.

_"As a matter o' fact she-"_

_"Don't you dare!"_ Liz roared inside her head.

"No! No! Nothing nothing at all heheh...Um, I have to go. I just remembered that today I promised Amy to bake her a-...a cake and I haven't really started it, let alone gotten the ingredients so... Um... Bye!" Liz cried and before anyone could protest she raced off.

"Well that was strange." Takeshi said. _'Liz...why won't you tell me what's bugging you? Maybe I could help.'_ Takeshi thought and he sighed. _'Is he really that clueless of how Liz feels?'_ Fauntine wondered.

"So um...wanna, do something besides stand here and stuff?" Takeshi asked.

"Um...of course. Doing something instead of standing is always a good idea." Fauntine replied with a smile and the two walked off somewhere.

Liz ran and ran, and finally had to sit down and rest. She breathed heavily, and wiped away the sweat.

_"Man, you sure did work out. I guess you made up for it since you missed training."_ her inner self said.

_"I don't really need you right now. Why don't you go away?"_ Liz asked.

_"Come on. Something's wrong. Tell me. After all we have the best communication when it comes to feelings so hard to express."_ her inner self said with a pout.

_"If I tell you you'll just make me feel even worse."_ Liz said.

_"You don't know that!"_ her inner self steamed.

_"Feh. Fine. He still loves her...and I sorta, didn't know what to do back there. All I did was run away and let them be alone, again."_ Liz explained.

_"Jealous much?"_ her inner self asked with a little snicker.

_"There you go again!"_ Liz cried defensively.

_"There _**you**_ go again, thinking that everything I say turns sour! Maybe you should hear me out and think about what I'm telling you! Just, you know what nevermind you're just so hard to work with sometimes!"_ her inner self huffed and turned her back to Liz.

_"Since when do you get so touchy?"_ Liz asked.

_"Since you won't cooperate with me."_ her inner self replied and stuck her tongue out.

_"Well fine! Geez, you're one to talk!"_ Liz said and stormed off back into reality.

As Liz looked up, she felt something rub against her leg. She looked down to see Sola! Out of suprise Liz backed off and fell off the bench. Sola licked her face to make sure she was okay.

"Thanks...what are you doing here Sola?" Liz asked as she pet Sola on the head. She only barked happily in response.

"If you're here to get Luca all fired up, tough luck. He's with Amy in the hospital. But I'm sure you'll get a crack at him once they're out of the hospital." Liz guessed and Sola whined, but then licked her face again. Liz laughed.

"Thanks. Listen, you had better run back to Bjorn and the others." she said and gave Sola one more pet before the dog ran off back to her team.

"Well that was a little weird." Liz said to herself and got up from the ground. She dusted off the dirt that had happened to find it's way on to her jeans and shirt, and walked off to go visit Amy. _'So much for baking a cake. I'll have to lie to Takeshi.'_ she thought to herself and raced off to the hospital in a fast jog.

"Hey Amy I came to visit!" Liz said as she entered the room. Amy was reading her book, and Luca was having a little sun bath. At the sound of Liz's voice Luca immediately jumped to be caught by Liz. Amy giggled as she placed her book down.

"Hey there Luca I came to visit you too." Liz said with a chuckle. The cat meowed happily and purred.

"Hi there Liz. Takeshi called and told me that you'd be visiting me, but um, he also said you had a cake?" Amy said with a confused look. _'That jerk! Okay not jerk, but that--argh!'_ Liz thought and she looked a little nervous.

"Um...well, I'm not the best at cooking and it sorta got ruined on my way here cause um...pigeons ate it!" she lied and laughed nervously.

Amy smiled saying, "You really didn't make a cake, did you? You just said that to Takeshi because you were trying to get your way out of something."

"Uh...yeah." Liz said and hung her head, a lone sweatdrop could be seen. Amy laughed.

"It's okay Liz." Amy said with a smile. Luca meowed, disappointed.

"Too bad Luca doesn't approve." Liz said with a smile as the cat hid under the sheets from Liz.

"He'll get over it." Amy replied. As the two talked for a while, there was silence in the room.

"Hey Liz, is something bothering you? Takeshi also told me, that you were acting strange." Amy asked.

"Hm? No way, nothing's wrong Amy I'm perfectly 100!" Liz said with a smile.

_"Liar."_ her inner self said coldly.

"Is it Takeshi?" Amy asked and Liz began to fluster.

"No way! Why would Takeshi be bothering me?" Liz asked as she waved her hands in front of her.

"Well, because he still likes Fauntine, and you like him." Amy suggested and Liz went all white, like a statue.

"No! No! No! It's nothing like that!" she said and began to fret.

"So you _do_ like him." Amy said, a sly smile on her face. Liz put on a frown.

"You! Argh! If you weren't in this hospital I'd be chasing you silly!" Liz pouted.

"Sorry Liz, I just wanted to know what was wrong. Maybe I can help." Amy replied sweetly, and innocently. Liz sighed, and scratched her head.

_"Maybe this would be a good chance to tell her how you really feel."_ her inner self suggested.

_"For once, you're giving me good advice."_ Liz teased. She took a breath in.

"Okay. I'll tell you but you have to promise me it's just between us!" Liz said and Amy nodded. When Luca heard this he came out of his hiding place.

"Luca wants to listen too." Amy said.

"Fine, fine. Just no telling okay?" Liz said to Luca and the cat only yawned in agreement. Liz took another deep breath, and explained her situation.

"Okay, I do like Takeshi...actually, more than a friend. You know what I mean...but he still likes Fauntine I know he does. That and, I don't really think that he cares about me as much as I care about him. And everytime he asks me what's wrong, I try to tell him but then don't get the courage to say anything. Another thing, Fauntine dumped him but she still wants him back, and the only reason why she dumped him..I think...is because she thinks that Takeshi does actually care for me more but I just don't see that he likes me more than a friend."

_"That's because you fight with me when I try to give you the strength to tell him." _her inner self chimed in. Liz ignored the little voice in her head and continued.

"Hm, that is a dilemna. I think the next time he asks you what's wrong, you tell him what you just told me. I'm sure it isn't that hard to tell Takeshi that you really like him Liz, it's just not in your nature to be like that." Amy said with a smile.

"Hm...I'll, try. But don't think he's gonna like me back the same way as I feel about him." Liz said waving a finger.

"I'm not thinking anything Liz. Just go with your heart and your instincts to tell Takeshi. I'm sure you'll tell him when the right time comes." Amy replied.

"Yeah..." she said quietly.

_"Because now, there's nothing between you guys."_ her inner self said.

_"I already know that so stop bringing it up."_ Liz hissed.

_"Sorry, but until you do something about it, Takeshi might go back to Fauntine. You know she still wants him as much as he wants her."_ her inner self replied.

_"Do you really think I don't know that? After that little run-in with her?"_ Liz asked.

_"Just saying. I'd tell him now before you lose the chance to ever say that you love him. Besides, that _**is**_why Fauntine dumped him, rmember?"_ her inner self said with a shrug and walked off, fading into darkness, the darkness in the back of her mind.

"That was a great movie. Thanks for taking me, Takeshi." Fauntine said with a smile as they left the theater.

"Oh it's no problem." Takeshi replied with a smile. He felt something in his pocket, and took it out.

"Oh yeah, I forgot I had this with me." he said. It was the two-piece.

"What is it?" Fauntine asked.

"I got this from my annoying little sister. I'm supposed to try and get the two apart, but it seems almost impossible." he replied.

"Wow. It looks interesting enough." she said as she looked at the gold and silver pieces stuck together.

"Yeah...but it's a nuisance." Takeshi replied with a chuckle as he put it back in his pocket.

"Takeshi, I was wondering, were you and Liz out on a lunch date?" Fauntine asked quietly.

"What? Me and Liz? No way! I-I mean we were just both hungry so we went out to get some food!" Takeshi replied, a little bit of pink could be seen. Fauntine giggled.

"Whatever you say Takeshi." she said with a smile.

"I don't believe you mean that." he teased and she only laughed. As they decided to go somewhere else, Takeshi thought in the back of his mind, _'After all, there's nothing between us...right?'_

A/N: Hey ev'ryone! i hope you all like it so far! again, plz, R&R! begs with puppy eyes lol if u don't i will haunt u forever! grrrrr...no i'd never do that o anyways, happy reading!


	3. Why Can't We Be More Than Just Friends?

A/N: Ah! Chapter 3 is up! nice and lengthy too :) R&R plz! i'm glad all of you have liked it so far too. and thanx for the info on Sola and Luca! All fixes for chapt. 1 and 2 have been made! if u find any fixes that need to be changed in this chapter just tell me! and if u do R&R, plz tell me how u feel about this chapter if u liked it, loved it, or thought it was the best so far! lol jk just plz R&R and no flames!

**Chapter 3: Why Can't We Be More Than Just Friends?**

Early the next morning, Liz woke up and couldn't really get back to bed. _'Hm...let's see now, everyone wakes up around...7ish and right now it's 6:30. I guess I could pass time and go test my skills.'_ she thought to herself and got dressed. She entered the little dojo area, and bowed quietly to an invisible enemy.

_'So, we're doing this again are we now?'_ her inner self asked.

"Just shut up and give me all you've got. Just no copying move for move." Liz said to herself.

_'Okay, here we go!'_ her inner self said and charged. Liz went head on to her invisible opponent, and punched, kicked, ducked, jumped, and guarded.

"Ha! Eat this!" Liz cried and bent down low to strike a kick that tripped her inner self. She fell to the floor but regained balance as she pushed herself up by her hand, back into position.

_'This is fun. I had forgotten what it felt like to spar with you.'_ her inner self said happily.

"Same here. Now come on, let's go!" Liz replied and charged again, moving quickly to her left she got behind her inner self and kicked. Her inner self turned around and got ahold of Liz's foot.

_'Ha! Not this time!'_ her inner self roared. With her foot in midair, she lowered it and then jumped back into her position. She wiped some sweat from her face, and came in with an uppercut. Her inner self jumped high in the air and extended her foot to come crashing down. Liz dodged by backing away and then charged foward when her opponent hit the floor. With a punch her inner self went flying.

_'Wow. You've improved. Maybe I should start training again.'_ her inner self chuckled as she got up painfully.

"Haha. I train a lot. We should do this more often." Liz replied with a laugh.

_'Okay, let's go again!'_ her inner self said and charged. Liz was about to do the same when she heard someone call her name.

"Liz?" It was Takeshi, who apparently saw Liz talking to a ghost.

"T-Takeshi!" Liz cried, alarmed. Her inner self gave her a punch, but she didn't do anything.

_'Aw. You're no fun. You're supposed to go flying to the ground!'_ her inner self pouted and then smiled when she saw Takeshi, disappearing back to Liz's mind.

"I thought someone else was in here. I decided to come a little earlier, and heard you apparently. I guess it's _just_ you too cause I thought there were two people in here. Were you talking to someone?" he asked.

"No...just some, mental training." she replied. He yawned.

"Oh...I see. Could I, join you?" he asked and she nodded.

"It's better having a partner than just training yourself, at least, that's what I think sometimes." Takeshi said as he got into position.

"Oh so we're playing Kickin Takeshi's butt at martial arts are we? Haha. Okay get ready to lose." Liz said as she got into her position.

"I don't intend to." Takeshi replied with a smile. As he charged, she got ready. She jumped back which made him lose his balance, and she bent down low and put a blow to Takeshi. He tripped and fell on his back.

"Ouch. You mean business." Takeshi muttered with a painful laugh as she helped him up.

"I always do when I'm against you." she said proudly.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Round two, here we go!" he cried and sprang into action. He punched and kicked, she blocked both times.

"Come on Takeshi! Or are you better with your swords?" she asked him as she went on the offensive. He blocked every one, and managed to shoot her down. She fell with a thud, but quickly recovered and charged foward with a punch! Takeshi dodged, a little on the sluggish side, and it cost him being tripped...again. This time though he too was able to recover, and outstretched his hand he moved his fingers foward to him, and she twitched her eye with a broad smile.

"Oho. I'll take that as a 'death wish'." she said with a laugh.

"Oh be afraid, be VERY afraid." he replied with a look that should have frightened her. Instead she stopped her position and laughed out loud.

"And THAT's supposed to scare me? HAHAHA!" she laughed.

"Aw c'mon, you're no fun." he said with a frown and slumped his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. How about this?" she asked and looked afraid enough to make him laugh too.

"That's good enough. Okay, enough of this, let's do it!" Takeshi said and came with a knee to her chin. She gave a suprised look and narrowly dodged the attack. She was then able to use her elbow and force it down on his knee.

"Owowowowow!" he cried as he hopped around holding his injured knee.

"S-sorry! Was that too hard!" she asked in alarm, but not enough to make her lose her guard.

"Sort-of!" he replied as he set his leg down gently, wincing a little at the pain.

"I'm sorry." Liz said and bowed respectfully in apology.

"H-hey it's no problem. But uh, could we um...take a break and resume this later?" he asked and she nodded.

As Takeshi rested and sat down on a bench, Liz came over with a sack of ice.

"I'm really sorry Takeshi. Here." she said and placed it on his injured knee.

"Aaaaah..that feels much better. Thank you Liz." he said with a warm smile. She blushed a little.

"Aw shucks it's nothin." she replied sheepishly.

"Um, while we're er-_I_," he corrected himself.

"Yeah?" Liz asked.

"Um...while I'm recovering and we're just sitting here right now, it's come to my attention that something is bothering you. Mind telling me what it is?" he asked as he faced her.

"Uh..." was Liz's response. _'Come on Liz, now should be the time to tell him! After all ,it's only 6:45! You can do it! I'm rooting for you!'_ her inner self roared in her head.

"Well..." she began. _'Go girl go!'_ her inner self cheered.

"Ya? Go on." Takeshi encouraged her.

"I um...Takeshi, I've sorta...well I...um...sorta..." she started and she began to fluster, she could feel herself get all hot and sweaty.

"You sort of, what?" Takeshi asked. _'I wish he weren't so stupid and get the picture that I'm trying to tell him that I like him like him! That way I wouldn't have to tell him!'_ she thought as her eye twitched inside her head.

"I...Takeshi I...TakeshiIsortareallyreallylikeyouasinIreallyloveyou! There, I said it!" she said in one heap. He blinked several times, his eyes were wide. _'Oh god Oh god please let his response be...okay...'_ she thought. As he finally got something to say, she listened carefully. This answer might be one worth while to hear, or the death of her confession to him.

"I'm sorry Liz but could you um..repeat that? I didn't get it all you said it too fast an' stuff." he said and she felt a vein pop, and her eye twitching like crazy.

"You idiot! Repeat it? Do you realize how hard it was for me to come clean and say that I really like you!" she cried and then clamped her mouth shut. As this Takeshi's mouth dropped, and he blinked several times, more than before.

"Y...Y-you _like_ me, as in...like me _like me_?" he repeated.

"Y...yes..." she said, her voice was as silent as a mouse.

"Liz I...I..." he started, and sighed. She wondered what the hell did that mean. _'What the hell does that mean?'_

"Don't say anything Takeshi...I'm sorry maybe I shouldn'tve said anything. It's clear that you still love Fantine and I'm just your friend I get it. I just thought...well, I mean, I told Amy about it and she told me to-...you now what, nevermind. If you don't wanna finish our match we'll leave it as a tie." Liz said, her voice was a little bitter.

"No no...we'll continue the match. I just, Liz, I...sorta, like you like you too ya know but um...I just don't think, it's the right time I guess." he said, his voice was a little shaky. _'Probably of shock.' _she thought to herself and then thought to herself, '_But why can't we be more than just friends? I mean, if you sorta like me can't we start from there!'_ She wanted to say that to him right then and there, she wanted to scream it to him, but decided to keep that inside.

"Of course...I get it. Um, if you're ready let's get back to our fight." she said and before he could do anything she went over to get ready for her attacks. As he walked over, he thought to himself, _'I really like her too. I guess, I just never realized that I really cared about her as more than a friend until now. Maybe, maybe this was why Fantine broke up with me, she did say that Liz would be better and all...Hm, as a matter of fact, I'm beginning to think, that just maybe some time in the future I'll be able to tell Liz that I really, truly care for her too.'_ and smiled.

"Okay. You ready?" he said with a smile.

"You seemed to recover so quickly. I'm glad." she said to him with a smile.

"Yup. Now, let's finish this so I can win and rub it in your face." he said and got into position.

"Sorry Takeshi, but it's the other way around." she said and he snickered in delight. They fought, and Liz shot a fist to his face. He dodged and countered with a kick to the stomach. She caught his foot, pushed it out of the way, grabbed hold of his arm, and flipped him over to on his back. As she gave him a smile, he smiled back and caught her off guard. He used his captured hand to grab her wrist and she toppled over! He was able to break free and sent a kick flying to her face. She quickly rolled over and got up, did a backward summersalt into the air and landed majestically.

"Since when did you learn moves from Luca? After all, cats do land on their feet." Takeshi joked. Liz laughed.

"That was slightly funny, and somewhat a little bit lame. C'mon Takeshi, is that all you can muster?" she asked him challengingly.

"Dream on Liz. This round two is just starting!" he replied and charged with a kick. She jumped backwards and then rushed past his foot. She grabbed his arm again, but this time went behind him and brought it up to his back.

"With one free arm, you can't do anything with the other." she said and pinned him down to the ground. What he was able to do with his free arm made Liz suprised. His free arm was able to pull her hair.

"Argh! Takeshi you!" Liz cried and let go of his captured arm to hold in tears.

"Sorry Liz! It was the only thing I could think of that would get you off! It's nothing personal!" he said as he waved his hands in front of him nervously.

"Well, at least you didn't pull any harder." Liz replied with a pout.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized once more.

"Nah. It's all right. Let's continue though." Liz said and he only nodded. As they fought again, Takeshi gave a jab and Liz avoided it to give him a push that made him lose his balance. As he fell he quickly regained his position and charged. Liz was ready this time, and got into position for an attack that would blow him away. _'This is it! Don't lose now Takeshi!'_ he thought to himself and charged even faster. Liz wasn't sure that she would be able to pull off her big move, but she waited for him to get closer. When he was finally close enough, he tripped on something and began to fall!

"WAAAAHH!" he cried and toppled over her. As Takeshi stared at her and she stared at him, they blinked many times and blushed just a little. Liz gulped, and then felt something touching in a place that wasn't supposed to be there. She looked at her chest and then gasped, becoming even more flustered!

"AAH! TAKESHI YOU! YOU! YOU!" Liz cried indisbelief.

"Huh? A-aaH!" he cried as he looked down to notice. He quickly got off of Liz, andshe jumped to her feet, steam began to show.

"Takeshi you! Do you have any idea what you were doing? WERE YOU EVEN CONCIOUS! YOU! ARGH!" Liz spazzed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I thought it was the floor! I thought...Um, at least that broke my fall..." he tried to joke and got a fist to his face. He fell on the floor, X's replaced his eyes.

"YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE JOKING LIKE THAT! YOU! YOU PERVERT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Liz cried, her face was all red, and he could see once he regained conciousness. As she began to storm off to her room, Takeshi followed close behind, apologizing all the way.

"Liz I'm sorry! It was an accident! I never intended for that to happen really I didn't!" he said to her.

"I don't wanna hear it Takeshi! Not another word!" she cried as they reached her room. As she slammed the door in his face, he could only suggest, "Can I at least take you out for dinner this evening? I mean...it's only 7:00." That made Liz open her door just a crack. This time her voice was casual toned.

"Are you asking me out, Takeshi?" she asked.

"Ummm...yes? Sort of?..." he replied. She thought about it, and then smiled a little.

"Okay. Your treat. You're going to pay for all of it too. Until then don't talk to me." she said and re-slammed the door.

"All of it?...Oh man this makes me even more worried." he said with a sigh and went back to the training area.

Liz sighed as she flopped on her bed. _'That jerk! How could he? Argh!'_ she thought. She turned around and stared at the ceiling. She had to admit, for a second she thought Takeshi was blushing, for her because he had liked her, cared for her as she cared for him.

_'You know, that was a touching moment.'_ her inner self joked.

_"What the hell do you know? That wasn't a touching-well, it sorta-Hey!" _Liz cried and steamed.

_'Chill, just breathe. Gosh you're such a funsucker.'_ her inner self said.

_"That was an embarrassing moment. Although, I thought he was blushing at me when he was on top of me."_ Liz said.

_'I think he was. From my perspective I think he was. No, I know he was. And now, you're going on a date! Lucky!'_ her inner self said. Liz laughed at that one.

_"I do feel...pretty good that he suggested it. But I'm sure it's only an apology dinner, nothing more."_ Liz said.

_'Why do you always have to be so negative? Negativety will get you nowhere in relationships like this one has started to blossom.' _her inner self huffed.

_"Hm...yeah. I guess you're right."_ Liz said with a smile.

_'Whoa. Did my ears just decieve me? You're actually agreeing with me? Wow. It's a start.'_ her inner self said with a nod.

_"Don't make me go back on what I just said."_ Liz warned with a laugh.

_'Oh I won't I won't! I'm just savoring the moment.'_ her inner self replied and the two laughed. For once no fights occured in her head.

Suddenly, Liz heard a knock on her door. _'That better not be Takeshi!'_ she thought and opened it. It was Miss Satomi.

"Oh. Hey there Miss Satomi. I already did training if that was what you wanted to know." Liz said.

"That's good to hear Liz. We just wanted to round up you and Takeshi. We're gonna see what you can do against Team Sledge Mamma in the simulation chamber. See how your teamwork is." Miss Satomi explained.

"Oh...all right. Let's go then." Liz said and met Takeshi and the others at the simulation. As they got into the cockpit, the race began.

"Okay Takeshi, let's do it." Liz said and Takeshi's reply was, "Y-yeah."

"Listen, I'm not mad at you anymore so get your act together and let's win this fight together." Liz explained and she could hear Takeshi sigh with relief.

"Okay. Let's do it!" Takeshi said and raced ahead, Liz close behind. With the first round finished, Sledge Mamma was still in the lead. As they turned around, Takeshi and Liz were ready for them. They charged at their opponents, and attacked with everything they had.

"Takeshi! Don't let them get to ya! Give em all you've got!" he heard Liz say to him.

"RIGHT!" Takeshi replied and fought back against Yamma's mech. As there was punch for punch, neither was giving in. As Yamma pulled off a kick to the side, Takeshi went flying back! Luckily he caught his balance and charged foward, faster than the speed of light. He put his whole energy into one good punch, and it made it's hit to Yamma's side. Yamma went flying back, and Takeshi raced to the front. Yamma regained his lost balance, and went after Takeshi. Giving a suprise attack to Takeshi, he was caught off guard and now on the defensive.

"Take this you piece of scrap metal!" Liz roared and went all-out offensive. River's mech did his best in blocking, but only critical hits made it to him. The mech went crashing to the ground, sparks flying as River tried to regain balance. When he finally got up, Liz tackled him back down.

"Oh no you don't!" she said and continued her pursuit. As River was badly damaged, he tried going on the offensive. Caught unaware of it when River managed to lay a blow on her leg, Liz was pummeled to the ground! She tried to get up, and was in for a bumpy ride when River wouldn't let her go.

"RAGH!" she cried and pushed with all her might! River flew into the air, but did a backward summersalt and his leg was extended out. As Liz was able to just barely get back up, she was forced back down by River's leg. As he made contact with her mech, he kicked back to jump off of her and onto the track.

"Damn...Takeshi I need your help! I'm in bad shape!" Liz said to Takeshi. Unfortunately, he had his hands tied up as well.

"I'm coming Liz! I'll be right there after I get rid of Yamma!" Takeshi said to her.

"Hurry! I don't think I'll be able to take much more of this!" Liz managed to say back. As she finally got up with no interference, she had to go on the defensive, her mech was in pretty bad shape. Now River gave her everything he had. She grunted as she blocked, vibration made her feel like she was on a neverending roller coaster ride.

"Take this!" Takeshi roared as he tackled Yamma's mech to the ground. When he was down, Takeshi ran foward, and then did a summersalt in the air! _'Almost there..just a little closer!'_ he thought to himself as he was looking down at River's mech. When he had reached enough, he came crashing down and nailed River's mech to the ground.

"Liz! Sorry I took so long, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah! Thanks." she said with a smile and then gasped in suprise.

"Takeshi watch out!" she cried but it was too late. Yamma's mech managed to shove him out of the way, and he lost control of his mech.

"AAAHHH!" he shouted as he tumbled and went crashing.

"TAKESHI!" Liz roared and destroyed Yamma's mech with a punch to the chest and a kick to the side, and rushed to Takeshi's side, trying her best to catch up with the damaged mech. When Takeshi could feel no more harsh vibration, he looked up and saw that Liz had gotten ahold of him and pulled him up so he would be balanced enough to make it to the finish line.

"Thanks." he said and began to blush. _'She did that for me...because she cared so much about me.'_ he thought with a smile.

"No problem. Let's get to the finish line." Liz replied and the two damaged mechs finished in lightning speed. As the two both exited from their cockpits, they both took a deep deep sigh.

"Good job you two. You actually won against them." Andrei said.

"For a second I wasn't sure if you were going to win or get beaten." Miss Satomi said.

"If that's supposed to make us feel better about the win, it's not working." Liz said with a laugh.

"Um, Liz, thanks for what you did for me back there in the simulation." Takeshi said when he came over.

"What? Oh. It was nothing Takeshi." Liz replied with a smile. Takeshi smiled too, but Liz felt like that smile was one that spoke LOVE. She blushed. Mark and Andrei snickered, and Miss Satomi couldn't help but giggle.

"Wh-what? What are you guys laughing about?" Takeshi asked and Liz frowned.

"Nothing, nothing at all. It's just that- you two- nevermind." Andrei said and continued to chuckle in delight.

"We already told you! Don't make me repeat myself!" Takeshi warned.

"But...huccum we can't be more than just friends..." Liz said quietly.

"What was that, Liz?" Miss Satomi asked, she had heard every word that came out of Liz's mouth.

"N-nothing ma'am! I was just about to back Takeshi up that's all!" Liz replied nervously.

"...Right. Anyways, I've decided to give you guys a day off. You've worked hard. Maybe you should go visit Amy." Miss Satomi said. _'That and make this little relationship stronger perhaps.'_ she thought and her eyes had a little sparkle show.

"Thanks!" the two said and bowed as they ran out the door.

"I didn't think they'd go so soon..." Miss Satomi said, her hair a little messed up since both Takeshi and Liz ran out with a gust of air.

"Let them enjoy the time they have together." Andrei replied and Mark laughed out loud.

As the two raced out, they finally stopped by the park to catch their breath.

"All right! A day off!" Takeshi cried happily.

"Yeah! Say Takeshi, before we go see Amy, do you think you could do me a favor and help me out with baking a cake for Amy? I mean...the last one I did turned into a disaster. Maybe with your help I could do it." Liz said.

"Sure. As long as it won't take that much time. A cake sounds nice." Takeshi replied and the two went to work at Takeshi's, with his parents permission.

"Okay...so we have all the ingredients and the recipe. Let's get to it." she said and began to bake while Takeshi either handed the ingredients, or held the recipe up for Liz to see. As Liz concentrated hard not to mess up, she accidently bumped into Takeshi who landed on the ground, the recipe slid under the kitchen table.

"Oops. Sorry Takeshi I didn't mean to ram into you. Do you think you could reach and get the recipe?" she asked and he nodded slightly. When he came back up she looked at it carefully, and put in what it said.

"Uh, Liz, I think that's wrong." Takeshi said when he saw Liz pour too much flower, with some spoon fulls of sugar.

"What're you talking about? It says right there to-" she looked at the top, and the cake was wrong.

"TAKESHI! YOU IDIOT! YOU FLIPPED THE CARD OVER TO THE OTHER CAKE!" Liz cried and started to whack Takeshi on the head.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" he apologized.

"GET OVER HERE YOU!" Liz cried, flour in her hand. She accidently tripped though on something and the flour went flying. There was a cloud of dust in the kitchen.

"Oh brother, what did you guys...do?" Yuri, Takeshi's younger sister asked as she came in the kitchen. She shrieked in suprise when she saw Takeshi and Liz covered in flour.

"Wow bro, you look paler than ever." Yuri giggled.

"GET OUTTA HERE SIS!" Takeshi roared and Yuri rushed out, saying, "I'm telling mom when they get back what mess you maaaade!" Liz coughed a little, and helped Takeshi up. She stared at him and started to laugh.

"Man Takeshi, and I thought _I_ looked bad enough. Your sister's right you look like a ghost! Hahahaa!" Liz cracked up. Takeshi only put on a blank face.

"Thanks. At least I don't look like _that_." he teased and Liz twitched her eye.

"Takeshi. That's enough outta you." she said with a glare and he backed away slowly. When the two cleaned up, they went to the hospital.

"So much for the cake..." Liz grumbled silently as they were walking down the hospital hallway.

"Say Liz, do you think you could go back to my house and grab me my cell phone? I think I left it there by accident, please?" he asked.

"Why don't you get it yourself? It's your house!" she protested.

"Yaa...but who's taking you out to dinner and paying for every last penny?" he asked and waved his finger in her face. Liz growled, and reluctantly raced off to Takeshi, while Takeshi rushed to Amy's room to have a little private chat before Liz's return.

"Hey there Amy." Takeshi said with a smile and a wave.

"Hello, Takeshi." she replied with a grin as Luca meowed.

"Listen, Amy, there's something I need to talk to you about." he said.

"Is it about Liz?" Amy asked.

"Sorta. She told me this morning that she really liked me, but I-"

"Oh! What happened? How'd it happen? Did you take it well? What was your reply? Don't leave me stranded Takeshi tell me!" Amy exclaimed.

"Whoa whoa! Haha. I asked her what was wrong and she told me, and then I said that I sorta liked her liked her too but it was just too soon and all to be certain, and she took it...okay. Then I got myself into trouble cause I accidently toppled over her and um...let's just say my hand landed on top of her chest by accident and she got all mad at me. So now I asked her out to dinner and she said that I have to pay for all of it, which I don't blame her for being mad at me, but um...what if she takes advantage of my money?" he said all at once.

"Takeshi! Y-you pervert you!" was Amy's first response.

"N-no! It's not like that!" he cried to defend himself and she sighed.

"Well, at least you asked her out. I'm sure she won't take advantage of you and your money." Amy said.

"Yes. Wait, you think I asked her out on a date? N-no it's just um...a sorry dinner." he said.

"Oh really? Then, does that mean you don't like her like she likes you?" Amy asked.

"Um yes, I mean no...I mean...uh...I don't know." he finally said and slumped his shoulders.

"Hm...well, do you think you're ready for Liz? Or are you still in love with Fantine?" Amy asked. "Be honest." she added.

"Well...I _am_ still upset about Fantine if that's why she broke up with me. But the last couple of days with Liz haven't been bad at all. I've really liked them. And when she confessed to me I didn't realize until that moment how much I cared about her too. But still, Fantine is still in my head." he said. There was a silence, and until Luca yawned and rolled over on her other side, Amy spoke up.

"Hm...well, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"I thought you had an answer actually..." Takeshi replied frankly.

"I don't have an answer for everything Takeshi. This is between you, Liz, and Fantine." Amy replied. Takeshi sighed and slumped down in a chair, hands over his face. He rubbed his temples, and thought about what to do.

"Takeshi..." he heard Liz hiss. He looked at her, she looked pretty mad. She was out of breath panting like crazy, and her eyes were squinted to the point where anger could be seen.

"Um, y-yes?" he asked.

"Your cell phone...it wasn't there." Liz said.

"Oh? I thought I...oh! Here it is." he said innocently and pulled it out of his jacket pocket.

"TAKESHI!" Liz roared and Takeshi burst from the hospital door, running like the wind down the hallway as Liz chased right after. Luca meowed.

"Three...two...one." Amy counted. Suddenly a loud crash could be heard from down the hall. Luca shot up, his fur standing on all ends until Amy settled him down with a laugh. She could only wonder what happened that made Liz and Takeshi knock over what sounded like cups, plates, pans, dishes, and any other kind of silverware or whatever. She had a sweatdrop on the side of her forehead, and Luca hissed angrily at Takeshi and Liz when they both came back in. Food was on their clothes, and their heads. Amy opened her mouth to have it interrupted.

"You don't want to know." they said in unison.

As evening finally approached, Takeshi gulped as he was able to get dressed up for tonight. _'Oh boy...I hope Liz doesn't order too much food...'_ he thought. As he waited outside of her door, he looked up and gasped when he saw Liz. She looked very beautiful, lipstick and everything. Her dress was the one she had worn for any real special occasion. The color was blue, and it looked magnificent on her. He could feel himself blush as he looked at her.

"Something wrong, Takeshi?" she asked him.

"N-no! I was just...you look-... nice." he said with a gulp as he shot up abruptly. Liz blushed.

"Thanks. Now let's go eat shall we?" Liz said and they went to the chinese restaurant, Liz's favorite. As they walked down the street, Takeshi couldn't help but keep blushing every time he looked at Liz. _'Wow...she's really...beautiful. And...wow...'_ was all he could think of.

"Takeshi, you've been staring at me ever since we left. What's going on?" Liz asked.

"Nothing! I'm just...well, it's just that uh...I already told you you look...nice." he repeated.

"Nice huh? Thanks but um, stop staring at me." Liz replied when they reached the restaurant. As they were seated, Liz looked over the menu, Takeshi didn't like what she seemed to have planned to order. As the waiter came over, they first ordered two apetizers and some sweet and sour soup.

"Liz, what are you planning on ordering?" Takeshi asked.

"Just wait and see Takeshi. Patience is a virtue after all." Liz replied as she blew on her soup and sipped quietly and slowly, trying not to burn her tongue. When the apetizers were done, it was time for the main course. Takeshi ordered curry, ramen, and rice. Now, it was Liz's turn. _'Oh boy...please Liz don't make me go bankrupt!'_ he thought as in his mind, he clapped his hands together in a praying position.

"I'll have a small bowl of Fried Rice, some Fried Dumplings, and a medium dish of Lo Mein please." she said and Takeshi opened one eye.

"Is that it?" Takeshi asked. Liz smiled and nodded.

"Yup. Unless you want me to get some other stuff." she replied.

"No no! That's...fine." he said with a grin.

"Be glad I went easy on you this time, Takeshi." she said with a smile and decided to have a sip of her tea. When the main meal finally came, and the bill was recieved, Takeshi was thankful that it wasn't too much for him. As they exited the quiet restaurant, it was getting really dark. As they walked silently back to Satomi HQ, they stopped under a lamp post.

"Thanks for the dinner, Takeshi." Liz said with a short bow.

"Ha. It was nothing I'm glad you liked it." Takeshi replied with a grin.

"Um, just, one thing I'd like to know, Takeshi." she said quietly.

"Hm? Yeah?" he asked.

"Was this a dinner date, or just a sorry dinner for this morning?" she asked him. Takeshi was silent, and didn't know how to respond to her question.

"Don't worry I won't be upset...at least, I'll try no to." she said with a weak smile.

"Well...at first it was just a sorry dinner for this morning, but I guess it was sorta a..date." he replied.

"You don't mean that, do you.." she said quietly.

"Liz...I...no. I'm sorry it's just that...I've been thinking about it for a long time now ever since you brought up the fact that you really liked me." he said.

"I see..." Liz said. She felt like he had just destroyed her completely. Why was she feeling so bad, especially now when she always had doubts all along? Maybe...maybe it was because, she finally thought that Takeshi had truly cared for her as she did for him.

"Liz...I'm sorry." he said. Anger began to rise, and she wasn't thinking clearly enough. All at once she lashed out at him angrily.

"Don't say you're sorry! I mean...if you do really like me like you say you do, then why don't we...why can't we just start from there? Is that too much to ask? Why can't we be more than just friends now?" she shouted. She felt it, tears beginning to form. Takeshi was stunned, he felt a painful feeling in his gut. There was no reply. He _couldn't_ reply.

"Why won't you answer! Takeshi! Give me an answer! I demand an answer dammit!" she cried, tears running down her face. Takeshi didn't know what to say. How to answer, it was as if that moment was paused, and he couldn't say anything. Liz bit her lip and her shoulders shook as she looked at the ground.

"Forget this...just- forget the fact that I ever told you that I cared for you! That I...I..loved you.." she said hoarsely and rushed past him back to Satomi's.

"Liz...w-wait! Liz!" he called after her, his hand outstretched in a position to make her come back. He was still standing in place, shock and grief, and so many different emotions swirled inside. As he lowered his arm, he placed them in his pockets and sulked as he walked back home. _'This sucks...dammit all Liz! I...I do care for you I really do, it's just...I'm still a little bit in love with Fantine...'_ he thought to himself. If he told her that, then he'd truly break her heart... and he knew it. When he finally was out of sight from the lampost, the light began to flicker on and off until the bulb finally cracked, splitting down the middle in a zig zag-ish path, making darkness replace the light.

A/N: Here's chapter 3! Wow, looks like a great day turned sour. How will Liz and Takeshi resolve it? Will Liz continue to love Takeshi, or will she try and forget her hidden feelings for him? Will Takeshi finally be able to tell Liz the truth about his hidden feelings for her, or will he keep lingering in the past with his relationship with Fantine? And what _about_ Fantine? How long will she be in Takeshi's love life? Will he go back to her, or start a new love relationship with Liz? Will Fantine accept if he does, or help him and Liz become a couple? So many questions about this unanswered relationship **will be answered **in the upcoming chapters! As for now, _To Be Continued..._


	4. Love Triangle

A/N: I'm glad ev'ryone who's read this story likes it so far! I'm very happy and pleased too. Ah yes, the inner Liz. I remember from on ep. she talks to herself in the mirror, so i thought that was her 'inner self'. anyways, lol. But argh! I am soooo mad at Toonami I could just go over there and kick their butt! IGPX isn't on there anymore, and when they return the show will be on at midnight! I can't stay up that long! parents won't allow me...--; aarrgghh! STUPID TOONAMI! grrrrrr . . . besides that, happy reading

**Chapter 4: Love Triangle**

_Liz rushed back to Satomi HQ. She burst through the doors and raced up to her room. Miss Satomi, Andre, Mark, and Jesse could only see tears that were left behind, and wondered what had happened (Jesse was filled in on the little love relationship Takeshi and Liz seemed to have). Liz ran to her room, and slammed the door. She slid quietly down to the floor and hugged her legs tightly as she cried and cried. She had forgotten what it had felt like, to be heartbroken, to cry...to be so, helpless... She looked at her arm, some tears had fallen. She sniffled and looked at them, and then wiped the tears from her face. But they kept coming, and she decided to cry until she couldn't find the strength _to_ cry anymore._

_'What happened? Everything seemed to be going great!' her inner self cried in disbelief._

_"Just leave me alone! I don't wanna talk about anything right now!" Liz shouted back._

_'But I can help! Well, I could try to!' her inner self protested._

_"JUST GO AWAY!" Liz roared and her inner self backed away slowly to the deepest part of the poor girl's mind. Liz continued to cry, her mind was spinning in darkness..._

_'Why don't you love me?' she asked inside. _

_'Don't you care for me?' she wondered. _

_'Am I nothing to you?' she asked. _

_'Why...why am I feeling these things?...' she wondered._

_'I need...love. I need your love, Takeshi...you give me true happiness inside even though I have been without love, _**that**_ kind of love...a feeling that continues to haunt me in my sleep.' she thought. As she clenched a fist, she kept thinking about the events that had just happened. She thought of everything, she remembered what she had said to Takeshi now. 'I wouldn't blame him if he went back to Fantine...'_ _she thought and changed into her pjs, put a sign outside that said 'Don't Bother ME! If You Step One Foot Into This Room You're DEAD MEAT!', slowly crept into bed, and pulled the sheets over her whole self. She hugged her pillow tightly, and tears began to fall again. 'Stupid Takeshi...why couldn't he just answer my question? Then again, if he had answered I probably would say more hurtful things to him...' she thought and shut her eyes tightly, hoping the tears would finally stop so she could go to bed. Now she really needed rest. All of this crying brought her stomach pains and a major headache. When she finally went to sleep, all of a sudden she heard a thumping from her door..._

"Liz? Liz! Liz are you all right in there?" the voice continued to call her name and knock on the door loudly.

"I'm fine! I'M-FINE!" Liz managed to say. She had realized that her tears never truly stopped, and wiped them away. She hurriedly got dressed, and then opened the door slowly to be blinded by the sunlight. She opened her eyes painfully to see Miss Satomi look at her, concern was written all over.

"I'm okay." she said to her quietly.

"Are you sure? I came to get you because we were going to do another practice but you don't look well at all and-"

"I'm-Fine." Liz repeated herself, a little more fiercely but quietly.

"Ah...All right. We'll meet you downstairs then. Amy will be joining us today." Miss Satomi said and Liz nodded as the two walked down to the simulations. When they reached, Liz's expression was blank when she saw Takeshi.

"Good morning Liz." Amy said brightly. Luca meowed happily, glad to be back in his Satomi cockpit outfit again.

"M-morning, Liz." Takeshi said a little wary.

"Morning." she said monotonously as she too put on her suit. Amy looked confused, and Luca looked worried. As they got into their cockpits, the simulation began.

"Takeshi, is Liz all right?" Amy asked.

"Did something bad happen between you two?" Luca asked. Another reason why he liked being back. He could actually talk to them in human tongue.

"Well...let's talk about this later." Takeshi replied.

"Liz are you okay?" Amy asked.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me Amy." Liz replied with a small smile. As the second round began, Liz demolished her opponent in seconds, and then went on to the finish line. She would only go back or slow down to either help Amy or Takeshi, or to let them catch up with her. When the simulation was over, Liz was first with Takeshi and Amy coming in second and third.

"Liz that was...amazing. You didn't give your opponent any time to react at all." Amy said in awe.

"Aheheh. Yeah, I was just focusing on winning, that's all." Liz replied with a nervous laugh as she placed her hand over her head.

"Yeah that was cool." Takeshi said, hoping Liz wouldn't yell at him since he said a compliment.

"Thanks, Takeshi." she said in her casual tone, but managed to smile. Takeshi couldn't help but think that smile was fake, and just put on for show so Amy wouldn't get involved in their little dilemna. Sensing the mood, Luca meowed.

"That's a great idea Luca! Luca suggested we all go out for lunch today. It's been a while since I've been out for fresh air and all." Amy said to them and they grinned.

"That's a pretty good idea. Way to go Luca." Liz said as she pet him on the head. He purred softly and had his tail go under Liz's chin which made her giggle in delight.

"Yeah. I can't wait." Takeshi said with a laugh. He couldn't help but smile at Liz's happiness, it made him feel happy too. As they all went out for lunch, they were able to round up what picnic food they had and brought out a blanket to sit on at the park.

"So Amy, are you ready for the race?" Takeshi asked.

"You bet I am! I'm more than just ready, I'm ready to kick Team Sledge Mamma's butt!" she cried happily. Liz laughed as she sipped her iced tea.

_"You can come out now. I'm sorry for yelling at you last night, I was just feeling a little...off."_ she said inside her head and her inner self appeared, a little reluctant at first, but managed to smile.

_'What happened exactly? From what I could see everything was flawless! Great!'_ her inner self asked.

_"Yeah...everything going so smoothly, and then I had to ruin it. You were there when I lashed out at Takeshi, right?" _Liz replied.

_'Well...I sorta left after you said, 'Don't be sorry!'.'_ her inner self confessed. _'Cause you sounded really mad and hurt ya know? That and I had a feeling things would get ugly.'_ she added.

_"Oh...well, to make it short I got mad at Takeshi and started to lose my temper to the point where I showed Takeshi the other side of me. The one that's actually the emotional one."_ Liz explained.

_'Oooo...that bad, huh? Did you get an answer?'_ her inner self asked, her arms folded across her chest as she balanced herself on one leg with the other slightly slouched.

_"I don't think...I really gave him time to answer. Everything happend so quickly even I can't remember all the facts."_ Liz replied with a sigh.

_'What do you plan to do now? Should he apologize, or should you?'_ her inner self asked.

_"Aren't you the one that usually gives me the advice?"_ Liz asked.

_'Sorry chica, but this is out of my hands. This is for you to decide. Either find a way to make amends, or spend the rest of your life alone...well, not entirely because I'll always be around.'_ her inner self replied as she shrugged simply, a small smile appeared right after. _'Sorry that sounded harsh.'_ her inner self added.

_"Man..."_ Liz said with a puzzled look on her face as she ruffled up her hair. _"Just when I thought that I was seperated from the love triangle once and for all."_ she said with a sigh and returned to reality.

"Say, Liz, I know that this might be a wrong time to say this but-" she heard Takeshi start as he gave her a very sad look.

"What is it, Takeshi?" she asked.

"I...I'm-" he started and stood up, looking her straight in the eyes.

"I'm sorry for last night, and I hope you can forgive me." he said an bowed in apology. Liz blinked a couple of times, and didn't know what to say. If anything, it was to be her that needed to apologize not him.

"I can't forgive you Takeshi." she said and stood up as well. Amy just sat down and looked at the two. Takeshi gave her a dumbfound look.

"Because...I should be apologizing. I mean, I didn't even give you a chance to answer...I got too worked up and stuff and I wasn't thinking clearly. If anything, I should be asking for your forgiveness. I'm sorry." she said and bowed to him. He smiled at her, and she began to feel happier again, as if everything before that fight disappeared.

"How can I not forgive you, Liz? Nobody could ever not forgive to a wonderful person like yourself." he said to her and Amy smiled widely with a happy little gasp.

"T..Takeshi that's..." Liz started and blushed.

"Wh-what?..." he asked, uncertain what would happen next.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me!" she said happily and gave him a hug that knocked him to the ground.

"Ahehehh..." he only replied happily with a smile. Liz gave him a kind smile, and then got up off of him. He brushed himself off and they sat back down.

"Does this mean you guys are really boyfriend girlfriend now!" Amy asked in an excited tone.

"I don't know yet, what's your reply Takeshi? To what I...asked yesterday." Liz asked.

"Liz...I...hm...I have to take care of something first before I can truly answer your question." he said as best and honestly as he could.

"I see. I'll wait until then Takeshi." Liz said. _'I'll wait forever if I have to.'_ she thought to herself. As their picnic continued, someone was watching from a far distance. She was so happy for Liz, and for Takeshi. At the same time though, she felt pain and sorrow deep within. _'Oh Takeshi...I'm glad that you and Liz are beginning to blossom, but I...'_ "I miss you so much..." Fantine said to herself and walked off silently. _'Looks like I'm still in the love triangle...and that goes for all of us.'_

"Say, do you guys wanna go for ice cream?" Takeshi suggested as he pointed to the ice cream man.

"Ice cream would be nice." Amy said as she clapped her hands together happily.

"Yeah. Why're you bein so nice Takeshi?" Liz teased.

"Can't I be nice? Normally I'm my usual grumpy self right?" Takeshi countered and Liz laughed.

"Ha! You got me there. All right let's go get some ice cream." Liz said and they went to the ice cream man. He gave them what they wanted, and they happily walked over to where the ocean was. A light breeze blew, and Liz enjoyed it so much.

"How's your ice cream Liz?" Takeshi asked as he walked over to her.

"Great. Yours?" he nodded in response.

"What about you Amy?" Takeshi asked.

"Mm-hm. It's really good I haven't had great food like this in a long time! The hospital food sort of grew on you if you had to eat it every day." Amy replied as she licked in satisfaction. Luca wailed a meow, and Amy kneeled down so Luca could have a lick. He put a cat smile and meowed in satisfaction.

"Luca likes it too." she added and Takeshi and Liz smiled. As the four looked out to the ocean, they smiled at it's beauty.

"It's so peaceful here." Takeshi said and took a deep breath in.

"It's like you lose a part of yourself that just wants to look at this beautiful sight forever." Liz said and the two gave her a stare. She blushed.

"Wh-what!" she asked innocently.

"Nothing. It's just well put that's all. Luca and I sort of feel the same way." Amy replied slightly and Luca meowed and purred. Takeshi laughed. As the three continued their afternoon peacefully, everything was going well.

_'Wow. Seems like you're having fun.'_ Liz's inner self said.

_"Of course. Today's a great day!"_ Liz replied happily as she stretched.

_'I'm glad...'_ her inner self replied quietly.

_"Something wrong? Normally I'm the one that sulks."_ Liz said, a puzzled look on her face.

_'What? Oh nothing is wrong. Haha I guess your sulkiness has rubbed off on me.'_ her inner self replied sheepishly.

_"Um...okay. Haha, sulkiness, well put."_ Liz teased.

"Um, hey you guys I'm going to go back to Satomi HQ. Luca wants to have his sun bath nap." Amy said and that snapped Liz out of her mind.

"All right. Hope you have a nice nap Luca." Takeshi said and Luca purred as he closed his eyes.

"Leaving so soon? Well, cats do need their rest after all." Liz said as she walked over to them.

"Yeah. Well, see you guys later." Amy said and waved. She took Luca's paw and made him wave too. As they ran off, they were finally out of sight, leaving Takeshi and Liz alone.

"You wanna do something else? Or are you going to go back too?" Takeshi asked casually. A blank expression on his face.

"Yeah, sure. I'm free all day really." Liz replied happily and the two walked somewhere else.

A girl sighed heavily as she continued to look at the ground, walking straight foward. She still couldn't take in the fact that she had dumped Takeshi, so that he and Liz could have a chance. She continued to wonder if that was the right thing to do. _'Why am I thinking this? I told Takeshi that there would be nothing to change my mind, and that there was nothing more between us but...now I wish, I hadn't. I still, I still love him. I'm afraid to say it but, I want Takeshi back even though...even though maybe he-'_

"Ooof! Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see-...Takeshi." she said, startled at who she bumped into.

"F-Fantine...no it's, okay. What are you doing here?" he asked her. Liz stood behind Takeshi, not getting involved.

"I was just taking a walk. What a coincidence, I didn't think I'd run into you. Hello Liz." she said when Liz was finally noticed.

"H-hi Fantine." Liz replied nervously. _'For some reason, I feel like this isn't a...'coincidence'. Damn, it's like she has Takeshi-radar or somethin.'_ Liz thought.Takeshi didn't look too pleased that he was now stuck in the middle, standing next to his ex, and Liz. _'I wish the word, 'Love Triangle' never existed.'_ he thought to himself.

"So um...what are you two doing?" Fantine asked.

"Just...walking." Takeshi replied. _'Oh this so does not look good.'_ Liz thought.

"Oh, yes. Well, I guess I had...better get going." Fantine said quietly. As she started to walk off, Takeshi didn't look back, but he wanted to call her name. He had failed that once before, and it ended his relationship with her. As he whirled around, he couldn't find his voice, and continued to watch her walk off into the distance. Liz could see that he wanted her to come back, and decided to do the talking for him.

"W-wait! Fantine! FANTINE!" Liz called and Fantine turned around slightly.

"Why don't you um...join us? I'm sure we'd all like that." Liz suggested and Fantine walked back to them. Takeshi sighed with relief, and gave Liz a 'thank you' smile. Liz winked back in response when Fantine came over.

"Are you...sure?" she asked, a little unsure if that was what they truly wanted.

"Of course. I mean, if it's not too much trouble for you." Takeshi was able to say. Fantine smiled, and replied, "N..not at all." and the three went to see a movie. They sat quietly through the whole thing. _'I'm sure, if anything, Fantine wants to lean on Takeshi's shoulder, and I bet Takeshi wants her to do that but they won't since I'm here.'_ Liz thought to herself and frowned. Without a word Liz got up quietly and excused herself by saying she needed to go to the bathroom. When she re-entered the theater, she saw what she thought they wanted to do. Fantine had her head on Takeshi's shoulder, and he slightly, slowly placed his beside her head. Liz felt a little jealousy rise, steam beginning to boil, but decided it was best to just watch the movie from where she was, not able to be seen. When the movie ended, she saw them come out and decided to walk up to them.

"Liz what happened to you man? You missed almost the whole movie." Takeshi asked.

"You won't believe the line I had to wait through." Liz lied with a shrug and placed her hand on her hips.

"Well, I guess, we should go." Fantine said quietly and they exited the movie. When they walked into the light, they all shielded their eyes for a few minutes. When they recovered, it was 4:00.

"Hm, we still have time to kill. Anyone have any suggestions?" Takeshi asked. No one answered, both Liz and Fantine had sad looks and their backs turned to eachother. He made a nervous laugh, and sighed. _'Stupid, STUPID love triangle. I hope I never get into one EVER again.'_ he thought angrily to himself and decided it was time to do something about this.

A/N: hi again! I will review the unanswered questions...How will Liz and Takeshi resolve it? (Unsolved: ) Will Liz continue to love Takeshi, or will she try and forget her hidden feelings for him? (Answered: She continues to love him) Will Takeshi finally be able to tell Liz the truth about his hidden feelings for her, or will he keep lingering in the past with his relationship with Fantine? (Unsolved: ) And what _about_ Fantine? How long will she be in Takeshi's love life? (Unsolved: ) Will he go back to her, or start a new love relationship with Liz? (Unsolved: ) Will Fantine accept if he does, or help him and Liz become a couple? (Unsolved: ) Okay, at least one question has been solved. to answer the rest, it is only a matter of time...chapt. 5 will be coming soon! (idk if u've figured it out yet...but i like to wait until i get at least 2 reviews not that i'm saying only 2 should be put before i do another chapter hint hint not trying to be mean, just saying!) -;


	5. More Than Just Friends

A/N: Okay, i'm gonna say all of this in this little A/N. please tell me why in detailed form! in a review plz. :) also, i'm just gonna say that I sorta made River a 'bad' guy. It's part of the whole TakeshixLiz thing. You'll see it's near toward the end. So all of you River fans, sorry if u get pissed that River is the 'bad' guy. don't flame plz! Besides that, here's chapt. 5 and happy reading!

**Chapter 5: More Than Just Friends**

"Fantine, can I...talk to you alone for a minute or two?" he asked her with a smile.

"O..Of course, Takeshi. I'll be waiting over there." Fantine replied and walked over to a bench a little bit away from them.

"Liz," he said and put a hand on hers. She blushed.

"Y-...yes?" she asked.

"Trust me with this. In no time you'll get your answer." he said and walked over to his ex. At first he sat down next to her, Liz could see their lips move in conversation. She then saw Takeshi get up, Fantine right after, and the two walked off somewhere else. When they were out of sight, and no where to be seen, Liz sighed heavily.

_'You okay chica?'_ her inner self asked.

_"Yeah..."_ Liz replied.

_'...Wanna snoop?'_ her inner self asked with a sly smile.

_"Heheh. I thought you'd never ask."_ Liz replied with an evil laugh. She couldn't help but feel so evil when it came to snooping on others. As her evil laugh ended, she rushed off to see what Takeshi was going to do.

The two walked for what seemed like hours, even though it was only a couple of minutes. Complete silence went as they walked. Both seemed like they wanted to tell eachother so much, that they didn't know where to start.

"Um...Fantine." Takeshi decided to start.

"Yes, Takeshi?" Fantine asked poitely.

"About Liz and me...I'm not sure if you noticed but we've been sorta...I guess, getting closer than just friends." he began.

"Of course." Fantine replied and nodded for him to continue. _'Of course I've noticed! I wasn't born yesterday you know.'_ she thought to herself.

"But um...since last night it got iffy, and even though we both apologized I still can't give a clear straight answer to her because...because I still love you." he said.

"Takeshi...I-...even though what I said to you the few minutes before our race, I always denied it. I..I still love you as well." she said to him and he gave her a surprised look, beginning to blush. _'This...wasn't what I had planned...'_ he thought. He was quiet.

"So...maybe, we could go back to being a couple." she started to say. He was taken aback by this, and tried to hide his expression from Fantine. She gave him a look and then chuckled to herself quietly.

"No, that wouldn't be fair to Liz. I'm sorry, I shouldn'tve said that, it was...rather rude of me." she said silently and Takeshi felt a relief lifted from his shoulders.

"Fantine, why didn't you tell me that until now?" Takeshi asked.

"Well I...I had it in my mind that you and Liz would be better but then, I started to regret ever saying those things to you. When I saw you and Liz grow close, it was already too late for me to tell you that I wanted you back." she explained.

"Oh Fantine...Maybe, maybe if you woulda told me before all of this then...I'm sorry but now I can't go back on my, decision." he forced himself to say.

_"Decision?"_ she repeated.

"Please, don't be offended by that. It's just that...these last couple of times hanging out with Liz I...I finally realized that I had hidden feelings for her." Takeshi replied.

"Yes. That _is_ what I wanted you to realize for so long. I'm glad you found your true happiness." Fantine said with a smile.

"Oh, Fantine I never said that-"

"It's okay, Takeshi." Fantine interrupted. But then, she turned away from him.

"Does this mean, that everytime we meet, that I am becoming a...a bother to you?" she asked.

"No! You're not a bother, never! I'm just saying, I can't give Liz a true answer until we sort out things between us...and now that I've found out that you haven't stopped loving me I-...it makes things a little more complicated." he said and then stopped. He took both of her hands, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"That's why..." he started and then put his arms around her waste.

"I need to know..." he continued and pushed her foward so that they were in reach.

"Takeshi..." Fantine said, she was beginning to fluster. He didn't reply, and pressed his lips against hers. She slowly closed her eyes and gradually encouraged the kiss to go on. It did, and it seemed like a lifetime for her. How she missed Takeshi so much. Liz watched the whole thing, her heart was getting crushed just watching.

_'Don't get angry...upset...don't get anything Liz. Takeshi told me to trust him...I'm trusting him but...'_ Liz thought and she closed her eyes. When she reopened them they were still kissing. She rolled her eyes in disgust.

_'Oh screw this. I didn't come all this way to see what he would do if he was going to kiss her. I'm outta here.'_ she said to herself and decided to go back to Satomi HQ. _'You said it.'_ her inner self commented and Liz laughed in a small, quiet chuckle. She didn't feel any tears, no sadness, nothing. It made her happy to know that, because without that sad feeling she didn't need to worry about Takeshi.

When the kiss finally ended, Takeshi and Fantine looked at eachother. He smiled at her lovingly.

"Thank you, Fantine. Now I know." he said to her.

"What were you trying to find out?" she asked. She waited for his reply, and realized that what she wanted to hear, really wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"If-...in that kiss, I wanted to know...if we still, had complete passion for eachother. Through that one kiss I realized that...I've fallen in love with Liz. But you will always, always be in my heart Fantine. I'm sorry to tell you that, but...it was and still is the only way I can truly answer Liz's question." Takeshi replied quietly. _'And maybe...maybe even tell her my true feelings.'_ he thought. Fantine felt as if a sadness totally replaced her happiness, and that she would always be saddened. But really, she was truly happy for Takeshi, and for Liz. Takeshi could see Fantine's sadness, and just stood there. Suddenly he felt Fantine's hand grasp his. She dragged him along and he followed, wondering where they were going. Their first stop was a jewelry stop. Takeshi waited outside, and when Fantine came out she grabbed his hand again. The last stop was her house, where she let go of his hand and walked up to the door.

"Why are we...here?" he asked and she opened the door. He stood outside.

"Well come in silly." Fantine called and he did so. He had forgotten the wonderful and delightful fragrance of the house he used to come by every single day when there was no training or practice. As he sat down on her couch, he waited, and waited, and waited for her to return. When she did, she had a little wrapped up box that could be seen in her hand. She gave it to Takeshi, and he looked at her with surprised eyes.

"Wh..what's this for? Is this what you bought?" he asked and opened it. He stared at the little bracelet, and gasped at it's appearance. It looked so familiar, so...

"It's an-"

"_Almost_ an exact replica of the one you gave to me, except it's pure gold instead of pure silver. I want you to give it to Liz. Telling her that it's from me as a happy present for a new couple such as yourself. And from you, as a present to start a brand new happy relationship. Isn't that what you want to tell Liz?" she asked.

"Fantine...I..." he started but Fantine's finger met his lips and closed them shut.

"Hush. I'm very happy for you Takeshi. I'm glad that in the end you and Liz will be happy together. I can see that you really care for her, and I know she cares for you. I can also finally be able to say to you, that I am true to my words. It's, over between us now, and I can finally move on. So, tell her I send her my congratulations." Fantine said with a teary smile and started to take a few steps back, then turning away from Takeshi to try and wipe the tears away from her eyes.

"Fantine...thank you." Takeshi said with a smile and gripped the little bracelet box with just a little strength. As he put the little gift in his pocket, he walked over to her. He turned her around and her teary eyes met his own. He wiped the tears away, and gave her one last kiss. When it was over, he backed away slowly, she could see compassion in them.

"Goodbye, Fantine." he said and ran out the door to find Liz.

"Goodbye, my love." Fantine said in a mere whisper, and closed the door as she watched Takeshi disapper from her sight.

As Takeshi ran and ran, he had to catch his breath. He looked up to see River standing right in front of him.

"Outta my way man, I'm trying to get somewhere." he gasped.

"Chill out man. You're out of breath anyways. Take a breather." River replied with a chuckle. Takeshi pushed River out of the way and began to run again.

"If you're looking for Liz, you're not gonna find her going that way!" he called and Takeshi ran backwards hurriedly back to River.

"What...do you...mean?" he asked as he gasped for breath.

"Where do you think she was?" River asked.

"Back at...Satomi HQ." he replied.

"Nope. She left to go on to the track a while ago. She said she wanted to clear her head of something." he replied.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the information River!" Takeshi called when he started to run the opposite way from before to get to the track.

"No problem man!" River called back and walked off. _'Haha. Sucker.'_ he thought and went to Satomi HQ. As Takeshi finally got on to the track, he saw no one.

"Liz? Liz! LIZ!" he shouted, but there was no answer. _'That's strange. Did River lie to me! But...why?'_ Takeshi wondered and feared that he had something worse to take care of first. He raced to Satomi HQ at lightning speed.

At Satomi HQ, Liz had just washed up. When she was re-dressed she walked out of her room to be blocked by River. She gave a small gasp since he had scared her, and wondered what he was doing here.

"I just came by to visit." he said casually as they walked outside to the front of the building.

"That's cool. So, we're going up against you guys next. Scared?" Liz asked as she leaned over a bar.

"Nah. I think you should be scared of Yamma. He means total business this time." River replied.

"We've been warned by Andrei." Liz said and he only nodded.

"Then I guess you know that he might be kicked off." River said and Liz gave a nod.

"But really he shouldn't worry us. I mean, he's only one and we're a team of three." Liz replied happily. River walked over to her and stood in front, grabbing her hand. She started to blush. Something in his eyes began to sparkle, and she didn't like it-...not one bit.

"Wh..what are you doing?" she asked him sternly.

"Before the race starts, I just thought maybe, both of us needed good luck." he said and she felt his hand wrap around her waist.

"River, remove your hand or else it will be pummeled to the ground, with you screaming in pain!" Liz warned.

"Now is that a nice thing to say to an old friend?" he asked as he forced her foward. Takeshi was seen in the distance, running, panting, and then flaming when he saw what River was doing.

"G-get off of me! This is your last warning!" she said.

"Sorry, I think I'm going deaf." he said and his lips moved foward.

"I'm telling you! Get off of me before you-mmph!" she struggled to say before her lips met his, and they kissed. She hated it, and tried to find a way out. She looked all around her, and then saw Takeshi rushing toward them.

"mmpffh!" was all she could do to cry over to him, and that made him even more enraged.

"RIVER!" he roared and knocked him to the ground.

"Takeshi!" Liz was able to say after she completely wiped and spat out any saliva that had River's disgusting germs on. _'YUCK!'_ her inner self said with an angry look of disgust on her face.

"Why'd you have to go and ruin the little good luck kiss Takeshi?" River asked, he slightly hissed.

"Hands off of Liz. What the hell were you trying to do!" Takeshi cried.

"Jealous?" River asked as he wiped some saliva off his mouth. There was a small silence, and Takeshi finally answered.

"Of course I am you jerk!" he said and gave River a good punch. River fell to the ground, with Takeshi pinning him back down right after. Another punch was to the other cheek. As Takeshi rasied his fist again, his wrist was grasped and he turned to see Liz. She looked pretty pissed from what he could tell. _'And why wouldn't she anyways?'_ he thought. He then saw her crack her knuckles.

"It's my turn now, Takeshi. Lemme attim!" Liz cried and River didn't like the looks of this-...at all. There was a bang, a pow, a whomp, a boom, and finally a K-O.

"What do we do with him now?" Takeshi asked.

"Ah. Just leave him there. When he regains conciousness I'll give him another beating. I'll open up a can of whoop-ass on this sorry jerk." Liz replied angrily. As they walked inside, they left River the way he was. Bumps all over, and his eyes were replaced with swirlies.

"Gah! I can't believe he _kissed_ me! I hope when I grow older I don't have children resembling anything like him." Liz muttered angrily, hands on her hips as the two walked into Satomi HQ.

"I'm glad you're okay. That's _all_ he did, right?" Takeshi asked sternly.

"I'm glad that's _all_ he did. If he did anything else he wouldn't even be breathing now!" Liz roared and Takeshi hugged her a second after. She blushed, and was completely unaware that would happen. As he let go, she smiled nervously and added a laugh to fit.

"Trust me, if he did anything else to you I'd be the one that would kill him." he said with a kind smile.

"Takeshi...thanks for what you did back there." Liz said right after.

"Heh. It was no problem. I just, couldn't let him do that to a friend I really care about." he replied. Liz blushed even brighter now, and Takeshi laughed.

"Liz." he said.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I finally, I can finally answer your question." he finished. There was a long silence, and Liz had to remember what her question was. She tried to put _that_ event out of her mind the second she was in her room that horrible night. _"__I mean...if you do really like me like you say you do, then why don't we...why can't we just start from there? Is that too much to ask? Why can't we be more than just friends now?"_ she remembered herself saying, when rage took over.

"All right, Takeshi. Go ahead, I'm listening." she said with a smile.

A/N: There's chapt. 5! One more time going over the unsolved/resolved questions. How will Liz and Takeshi resolve it? (Unsolved: ) Will Liz continue to love Takeshi, or will she try and forget her hidden feelings for him? (Answered: She continues to love him) Will Takeshi finally be able to tell Liz the truth about his hidden feelings for her, or will he keep lingering in the past with his relationship with Fantine? (Unsolved: ) And what _about_ Fantine? How long will she be in Takeshi's love life? (Answered: Not long apparently) Will he go back to her, or start a new love relationship with Liz? (Answered: What do u think? lol) Will Fantine accept if he does, or help him and Liz become a couple? (Answered: she helped him awww) now, only two more questions to be solved, and they will in the last chapter!


	6. LOVE

A/N: Well here you go! The last chapter. For those of you who have left me reviews, I'd like to take the time and thank you all...THANK YOU YOU'RE ALL SO KIND! Also, just in case u didn't get my reply -kristine x3-, the time did get changed to 12:00 which runs into adult swim, not toonami. i'm just not allowed to stay up that late ( sniffs now i'm very sorry that it's not the longest ending chapter, but as I wrote this I tried putting in everything I had that spelled out drama and romance. so, i hope you all like this ending, and happy reading! o yea, another thing. the only thing that's underlined is something that my friend wrote in a story that we started. so keep that in mind cause i give sweetnevermore the credit for that funny word i go attatched to. lol. o yea, one more favor. for all of u that have reviewed lots, plz review one more time to tell me if u liked the whole story, and the cool ending. if u do u will make me smile :)

**Chapter 6: LOVE**

"All right, Takeshi. Go ahead, I'm listening." Liz said with a smile on her face. Takeshi inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes after exhaling.

"Hear me out Liz, no interruptions, mmkay?" Takeshi asked and Liz nodded.

"No interruptions. Got it." Liz repeated and Takeshi smiled.

"Before, I couldn't answer your question because I still had feelings...feelings for Fantine that just wouldn't leave me alone after she had told me those words before our race. If I had told you my first answer, which was 'We can't be more than just friends now because I still have feelings for Fantine. Love...', I knew you would be heartbroken, and a big part of me would be crushed if that were to happen." Takeshi started. When she heard his first answer she felt a knot in her throat, but then relaxed after he said he would be saddened if she would have been deeply crushed even further.

"Go on." she said quietly.

"But now...I finally found a reason, and a true answer. This wasn't the first time, but today I **truly** found deep within me that always...always somewhere inside me I had hidden feelings for you. Feelings that wouldn't leave me be, and the first time you told me your confession, it hit me-...hard. That was the first time I actually realized I had feelings for you, that would change my life forever. Then, with Fantine I started to have doubts. I knew I still loved her, wanted her again, but the time I spent with you made it harder to, _decide_. Don't take that the wrong way, by the way. I mean, the relationship that began to blossom between us began to wither when Fantine would ever appear, and my feelings for her would always come back." he continued.

"Yes...I realized that at some point, but I...never _truly_ had doubts." Liz said. _'Oh really? You never had doubts?'_ her inner self teased. Liz began to fidget, getting a little anxious.

"That's why...today when I wanted to talk to her alone, I wanted to see if my feelings for her had been what they were before. Neverending, love, true compassion... Or, what they were becoming... Faint, a mere memory, something to never be relived. So I kissed her, and through that one kiss I realized that my feelings for her were just...different. I didn't have the passion I had before. I didn't sense what I had before. It was weird, a strange feeling. It wasn't all for nothing though, because in that one kiss I was finally able to let go, and move on. To move on to someone else who cared for me all this time without me even realizing it until the very last second. To move on to someone who I too, had close feelings for. To someone I truly cared for, and would never let anything happen to her, never letting her leave my side." he said to her with a smile and took a step foward. Liz was surprised and gasped a little, and commanded herself to stay still.

"And so, my answer to you." he started and took another step, this time a little closer to her. Their eyes met, and he was close enough to...

"My answer, is, we can be more than _just friends_. We can share something no one else will ever be able to dream of that involves us. We can truly be, together now, and let our passion for eachother begin to blossom into a beautiful relationship. I don't think that's too hard to ask now, do you?" he said with a loving smile and locked her in a kiss that melted her away, and swept her off her feet before she had time to answer. At first, it was a strange feeling to be in a kiss with a friend she had so longed to be with all those times ago. She blinked a little, but finally closed her eyes. It seemed to be everlasting, and she wanted it to stay like that forever. Paused like a photograph that would never change position. When she felt Takeshi move away, she opened her eyes to see him hold out a small little box. She took it, and opened it to see a thin, golden bracelet. She thought she had seen it before, and she realized it was almost an exact replica of the one Takeshi had given Fantine, besides that hers was gold and Fantine's was silver.

"I uh, hope you like it Liz. Fantine told me to tell you that, she congratulates us on our new relationship and wishes us a happy life together. It's also a present, to tell you that... I love you." he said. He said it! He had said the words that she had longed to hear from him so long ago! She couldn't believe it, tears of joy began to run down her face. She put the bracelet on, and stared at it happily.

"Takeshi...I love you too." she was able to say and smiled brightly as she wiped the tears away. Takeshi smiled back, and all of a sudden collapsed on the floor as Liz's weight pulled him down in her hug of joy. He laughed, and heard something fall out of his coat pocket. The gold and silver piece swirved and hit the wall, glistening in the sun's bright light when it stopped in it's tracks. Liz walked over to it after she got off of Takeshi, so she could give it back to him. She looked at it curiously, and gave it back to him.

"What is it?" Liz asked.

"Something my annoying little sister Yuri gave me. I'm supposed to get the two apart, but it's almost impossible. It's a real bother sometimes." he replied with a shrug and Liz took it out of Takeshi's hand. He closed his eyes with another shrug and then folded his arms across his chest.

"If you think you can do it then be my guest, but I'm telling you it's im-" he started and then heard a little clink. He opened one eye, and in surprise saw Liz smile and extend her hand to give him the silver piece. At first his arms unfolded and dropped, and his mouth was wide open in surprise. He finally cupped his hands though, and the little silver piece fell into place. In her hand she held the golden piece.

"Possible." Liz corrected with a smile and laughed when Takeshi's little hair part poofed down in confusion.

"B-b-but how did you?-...How did you do that!" he asked in disbelief.

"I guess, anything is possible when you've finally found the person you want to be with for the rest of your life, and never ever let him go. Or let him go out with another woman. You'd better not do that either Takeshi, or else you'll be burnt toast by the time I'm done with you!" Liz said with a frown that made Takeshi smile, his little hair part perked back up happily.

"I won't ever do that to you Liz. You're the one I truly care about, and no one will ever replace you. Not even if she may be prettier, sexier, a little more-"

"I get the picture..." Liz said, her eye twitching and her hand went into a fist-like position. Takeshi laughed.

"I'm kidding I'm kidding. Liz, to me your just plain perfect." Takeshi said and she smiled. As she put the gold piece in her pocket, she made sure that it wouldn't fall and stay in there. Takeshi put the silver piece in his coat pocket and zippered it up.

"Well, what would you like to do now?" Liz asked. It was already 6:00.

"Would you care to join me for dinner?" Takeshi asked as he bowed dramatically and extended his hand so hers could be held. Liz smiled and giggled in delight.

"Are you asking me out, Takeshi?" she giggled as she placed her hand in his. He gripped it softly, and gave her a smile.

"You bet I am. I'll pay for all of it too. My treat." he replied and she gave her another kiss. She blushed.

"All right. I humbly accept." she said with a smile, and the two walked down the hall, hand in hand. For Takeshi, this relationship would last until he died. For Liz, the relationship would last Forever.

The End


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